NHS HEALTH DRIVE STARTING 'AT HOME'

The NHS is kick starting the country’s health drive and anti-obesity campaign by targeting midwives, nurses, health visitors and other NHS staff.

In a bid to better the health of the nation, the NHS hopes to lead by example, devising diet and exercise programmes for the 1.2 million NHS staff. Of this figure, around 300,000 members of staff are obese, and a further 400,000 considered overweight.

The Department of Health’s drive for a healthier nation has lead to fast-food chains such as Burger King, Wimpy, Pizza Hut and Pret A Manger, publishing calorie contents on their meals.

By June this year, the public health minister Dawn Primarolo has promised that comprehensive information on the calorie content of the food and drinks on sale will be on display for customer information in more than 450 food outlets.

The obesity epidemic sweeping the nation is costing the NHS ₤4.2 billion a year. If left untreated, this is predicted to rise to ₤50bn per year in 2050.

Councils and the emergency services are also feeling the weight of a growing nation: stronger furniture has been implemented in some schools, whilst official figures show that calls to fire crews to deal with moving obese people have increased, with 1,784 obesity-related calls made since 2004.

The cost of such calls is estimated at ₤4m, based on an average emergency services call out cost of ₤2,289 per incident.

For more information on leading a healthy, physically active lifestyle, please visit http://www.nhs.uk/Change4Life.